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Tag: Nikon D3s

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It was great fun to arrive at the 2015 International Hunter Derby Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, last month and see that the United States Hunter Jumper Association had selected my images of Brunello and Liza Boyd for this year’s limited edition poster. This was a particularly challenging event to photograph in 2014, because just as the top horses and riders were set to return to the show ring the rain went from a sprinkle to a deluge. Thankfully, I had […]

This week’s Photography Challenge featured the word “Reward,” and I instantly knew where to look for a photo depicting this definition. One of my favorite places to stand and photograph during a horse show is at the out-gate after the riders have received their ribbons. There’s often a moment after the awards ceremony when the rider revels in the moment and rewards the horse with a kiss or a pat on the neck as they leave the ring. Some riders […]

Now that I’m in the Level 20 Lounge in The Arcanum, I’m among those photographers waiting for Sphere 2 to open and to be selected by a new master. In the meantime, the members of the Lounge have participated in challenges, photography-related discussions and attending the Creation Wars events each Monday night. While enjoying this relative quiet time, I’ve had the opportunity to go back into my photo files from 2014 to explore. Today’s challenge was the word “time,” […]

I’ve always enjoyed playing with negative or empty space in my photography, so the Rule of Thirds is one of my favorite compositional tools. I actually set up my cameras to have the Rule of Thirds grid on the screen just because I do find myself frequently thinking that way. While I was in Florida last week I spent a day out playing and photographing the competitors for fun and not shooting strictly for editorial. Here, I stood on […]

The $100,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular is held annually in Wellington, Florida, each February. I’ve photographed this event since its inaugural year way back in 1997! So much has changed since then, with the sport and the photography. But even after 19 years, I still enjoy observing some of the country’s best show hunters compete under the lights with appreciative spectators filling the stands. The challenge is to deal with the shifting lights while stopping the action […]

Today, one of my assignments was to take some “fun” shots for future ads and programs, which was so liberating since I usually take images for editorial use, which is more regulated. I went out and about with the Nikon D3s and Sony A7 with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto, simply enjoying the beautiful horses in the morning light. I spent time hanging out with friend and fellow photographer Vicci Valenti from The Book LLC, who was on a […]

Today I spent the day photographing some of the most beautiful show hunters in the country that are competing on the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit in Florida. Each year I travel here for World Championship Hunter Rider week, where the hunters are featured. Unlike show jumpers that compete against the clock, these show horses are judged subjectively on their jumping style and movement. They’re like eye candy for horse lovers! Here are a few of my favorites.

It’s Equine Tuesday, which is a fitting day to apologize for missing yesterday’s blog post. I’d planned to post every day this year–as I’ve done in past years–but now that I’ve taken on a few new equine-related projects I’m going to have to admit that posting daily just might not happen. I’ve enjoyed spending more time here, visiting new blogs and catching up with old ones, so I intend to continue posting as often as time allows. I met […]

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Serenity. This is the swan I photographed earlier this fall who was so relaxed in my presence that it took a nap while I was hanging out at its pond. A perfect candidate for this week’s theme! This image was edited in Lightroom and Macphun’s Tonality Pro.

Almost nine months to the day after Laurie Rubin invited me to join her Nature and Wildlife Cohort in The Arcanum, I graduated from the Foundation Levels and Sphere 1. I’ve now joined an élite group of Arcanum apprentices who have achieved Sphere 2 and Level 20, and I’m looking forward to the Arcanum’s next great adventure in photography. The Arcanum’s structure includes Foundation Levels from 1-9 and then Sphere 1, which includes levels 10-19. For these levels an apprentice […]

It’s a New Year and time to reconnect with the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. So how àpropos that we are starting fresh with the word “New.” My new just happens to be old, however. One of my 2015 goals is to travel back in time into my photo archives to resurrect images that have been overlooked, ignored or otherwise lost in the whirlwind of creating new images. In 2014 I pressed the shutter on my cameras more than 21,000 times […]

The Arcanum’s Creation Wars last night (see yesterday’s blog post for more information) resulted in an excellent battle, with the lion image tying for second for Master Laurie Rubin’s Arcanum cohort. The winner’s photograph was amazing and well-deserved for the top honors. It’s a conceptual image, and I was so impressed with the photographer’s imagination, vision and creativity, along with her artistic talents. If you have a moment, here’s a link to Lucia Ferreira’s blog post with the winning photo […]

I’ve been so busy the past few weeks with travel to Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Ohio for meetings and assignments, I haven’t had much time for personal photography. But I did manage to edit a few recent images in between magazine deadlines, including this swan that I stalked. One of the benefits of being a member of The Arcanum is having access to hundreds of tutorials and educational videos in the Grand Library. Whenever I have a spare moment, (especially when […]

The Clarke County Football Club concluded their inaugural season in the Old Dominion Soccer League last weekend with two hard-fought away games. The first game was played against FSCI Phoenix White of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the only undefeated team in the league. The CCFC has improved immensely since they started the season in September as a brand-new team, and they continued their winning streak with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night. It was the first time I’ve shot a game […]

The 10-day Capital Challenge Horse Show concluded yesterday in Maryland, and I’ll admit I was a bit tired driving around the Capital Beltway last night on the way home. This horse show is often dubbed “Capital Punishment” because of its duration and long hours. The days often begin at 7:30 a.m. and end some time after 9 or 10 p.m., with the horse show staff and media often working until well after midnight. Even though the hours are long and […]

Cameron’s first season of high school golf is quickly coming to an end, just as the last rays of summer sunshine are fading. He’s played in a variety of tournaments and nine matches for Clarke County High School since the beginning of August, with the highs and lows all golfers seem to experience when the pressure of competition comes into play. While there were certainly moments of frustration for Cam when he didn’t score as well as he’d hoped, I […]

One of my favorite summer pastimes is sitting out on the deck and photographing the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds that call our yard home. This year, we have a huge crop of birds, and sometimes a dozen are chattering and sparring over the feeders at the same time. I’ve tried a variety of cameras and lenses, but I’ve now decided that what works for me is the Nikon D3s or D800E and the 70-200 2.8 VRII lens. It’s not the lens […]

It’s been a whirlwind week with an In Stride magazine deadline as well as golf tryouts for Cameron. After facing three days of scrutiny on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, playing and practice, Cam made the Clarke County High School varsity golf team. Today, the team had their first competitive outing in the Curly Licklider Memorial Golf Tournament, which is the traditional opening event for many Virginia high schools. There were 20 teams in attendance, with each fielding six players and the […]

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My Story

For the past 25 years, my professional photography career has been focused on horses in sport, however, I'm now in the process of exploring the nature and fine art realms. I hope you enjoy the variety of images I'll be posting during the year. I look forward to your comments and critiques!